Justin Timberlake’s ‘20/20 Experience’ review: This time he brings love as well as SexyBack

Like an attentive lover, Justin Timberlake likes to take his time. In the past, he applied that principle to his CD releases, letting six years elapse between his last album and this new one.

Now, he's reflecting it right in the length of his tracks.

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On the luxurious new "The 20/20 Experience" CD - out next Tuesday and streaming today on iTunes - seven out of its 10 songs linger for more than seven minutes. An eight takes nearly as open a view of time.

If that irks the guys charged with editing this stuff for radio, it should please actual fans no end. The songs' vertical construction helps them earn their space. They're built around long runs of beats and riffs, nearly all hypnotic enough to keep us entranced. Like Timberlake's first two CDs, the new one has the pulse of dance music, but this time of an especially plush and sensual kind. It's an elegant sway rather than a hot strut. As before, the songs have plenty of high-toned melody to elaborate their funk.

The first single, "Suit and Tie" idealizes the one-two punch. It's equal parts club grinder and pop pastiche. Like many songs here, it evolves, cleaving into several, smoothly segued sections. Straddling eras as well as genres, it toggles between the '70s style soul of the Curtis Mayfield/Marvin Gaye-variety and more deeply inflected modern hip hop. That last bit is aided, of course, by the smart Jay-Z rap cameo. The plush "Pusher Love Girl" starts with a mid-paced ballad classic enough for Micheal Jackson, only to dip down into a hot rock-rap mash-up in its second half.

Justin Timberlake's new album consists of 10 songs. (Vevo)

Such sounds aren't entirely new to Timberlake. That's no surprise considering he has retained his main collaborator from his last Future Sex/Love Show CD - producer/writer Timbaland. But the disc does have its twists. "Don't Hold the Wall," has the tabla-like smack of Bollywood music, while "Let The Groove Get In" builds around an itchy and undulating African beat. It's sampled from a 2002 album that features field recordings collected on the continent back in the '70s.

The general familiarity of the sound suggests a star who feels he has little to prove on this, his first album since entering his 30s. That might seem arrogant had the 32 year old's first two solo albums not established such a striking track record.

The assurance shows best in his vocals, which here achieve a balletic grace. He Fred Astaires his way through these tracks, dancing over their melody with the air of an acrobat. It all serves the persona he has adopted and, by now, perfected - a lover able to balance a boyish eagerness with a manly talent.

jfarber@nydailynews.com

Justin Timberlake has added a second Yankee Stadium date to his "Legends of the Summer Stadium" co-headlining tour with Jay-Z. They'll play July 20, as well as the previously announced date of July 19. Tickets go on sale March 18 at 10 a.m. at livenation.com.